Assuming one has access to a credit card and is financially literate, I agree that using BNPL is a hard sell (never having used it myself). But there is a large population--the unbanked--that lacks access to credit cards. For that population, the choice is not between credit card and BNPL, but BNPL and cash.
I found the article's description of how BNPL structurally differs from credit cards interesting, as it is a reasonable explanation for how BNPL can serve the unbanked and still have functioning credit risk models:
> Even with adverse selection for BNPL, the underwriting is for each transaction, not for all monthly spending like that in credit cards; so if a consumer misses a payment, the BNPL provider can stop lending immediately, as opposed to the credit card company which has to underwrite the person’s full ability and willingness to repay their debts. This tech-enabled granularity allows for legibility and hence greater precision and predictability.
I found the article's description of how BNPL structurally differs from credit cards interesting, as it is a reasonable explanation for how BNPL can serve the unbanked and still have functioning credit risk models:
> Even with adverse selection for BNPL, the underwriting is for each transaction, not for all monthly spending like that in credit cards; so if a consumer misses a payment, the BNPL provider can stop lending immediately, as opposed to the credit card company which has to underwrite the person’s full ability and willingness to repay their debts. This tech-enabled granularity allows for legibility and hence greater precision and predictability.